The New Dawn in Sunnydale
by black mage wannabe
Summary: YAHF Xander is captivated by a different costume at Ethan's, a costume of a missing-nin of Akatsuki. And even when Halloween is over, the changes don't disappear.
1. Chapter 1

Howdy Buffy and Naruto fans. I hope you enjoy my second story. I've always loved YAHFs and hope this is a good one. Please read and review (constructive criticism please no flames). I'd love feedback about my story. A warning: this story will not be updated every week. My first priority is my Harry Potter and Bleach crossover (read it!!!), but I promise I won't forget about this story. It'll update more sporadically.

And in this Buffy universe, Naruto doesn't exist so nobody has any idea what Xander has dressed up as.

I do not enjoy Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Naruto. Some of the conversation between Willow, Xander, and Buffy and Xander's advice to the kids about trick or treating was from the episode Halloween.

* * *

Xander walked into the costume shop with a frown on his face and Willow and Buffy on each side of him. They had dragged him to this place even though he had his soldier costume almost ready. He watched as the girls ran off to a fancy looking red dress that Buffy no doubt wanted to wear to impress Angel. Why were all the hot girls attracted to bad guys?

_Angel is dead. As in he does not breathe. As in Buffy would technically be committing necrophilia if she ever has sex with him. Speaking of sex how the hell would that even work? Ewww icky thoughts._

Xander shook his head to rid his mind of the nasty images. He looked around the costume store, hoping to find a cheap toy gun for his costume. As he turned his head a bit of red, black, and white caught his eye.

A black cloak with white clouds outlined in red was on a mannequin. On top of the mannequins head was a wig and a strange straw hat that had flowing bits that covered most of the face. On the mannequin's hand was a ring with some kind of Japanese symbol on it. And on its feet were strange white and black shoes that looked like a cross between sandals and boots Before Xander even realized what had happened he was standing in front of the costume. He wanted it; The costume looked a hell of a lot cooler than some generic soldier. He looked for a price tag but could find none.

"Hello, young man. I see your looking at my newest and most unique item," A crisp British voice said behind him. Xander jumped up in surprise.

"Holy moley, mister. Please, please don't sneak up on me. Actually you probably don't want to sneak up on anybody in this town. You never know what could happen since there are va… gangs on PCP all over Sunnydale. And Giles would hate to see a fellow tweedy guy fall to the evil of the town." Xander muttered this last bit, but the man heard him.

"Giles you say? Rupert Giles by any chance? I haven't heard from him in years."

"Yeah, that's right. Or G-man as I call him."

"Well any friend of Giles is a friend of mine. I'm Ethan by the way, the owner of this establishment. Would you mind keeping my arrival a secret, I'd love to surprise the bloke. Anyway, what do you think of the costume?" Xander turned to examine the costume, missing the frightening gleam in the man's eye.

"What is it supposed to be?" Xander asked. He had never seen anything on television, in the movies, or even in the comic books he read like it.

"No clue really. I'm sure you can come with some kind of back-story. So what do you say? Do you want it?" Ethan was eager to sell the costume and he knew this boy wanted the costume. He was so close.

"I'd love to, but-"

"Nonsense, I won't take no for an answer. And if you promise to keep quiet about my return to Giles, it's only twenty dollars." There was no way for Xander to resist this offer. He nodded his head and Ethan smiled.

"Wonderful. I'll ring you up." With that, Ethan gathered the cloak, dark clothes underneath, wig, hat, sandals, ring, and the nail polish on the side of the mannequin that Xander had somehow missed. Ethan nearly dragged Xander to the register.

"Oh, I almost forgot a few parts of the costume." He reached for something on a shelf below. "It's meant to go on your head. I'm sure you can figure it out. Now, here's the last prop for you costume." Ethan kneeled down underneath the counter and came back up with two small packs. He opened one up for Xander who saw that it was full of some kind of knives and ninja star things "Please be very careful, they're quite sharp. And in the other one…well as you can see it's nothing special, but part of the costume nonetheless." Ethan was quite excited although he had no idea who or what that costume was meant to be, but it would no doubt be fantastic. He had been calling upon Janus, asking him to give him an outfit that would cause the most chaos and it had appeared after a bright flash of light. He rung the boy up, put the costume in the bag, and told the boy to have a nice day. Then he was on his way to sell the noblewoman dress to the Slayer. Halloween would no doubt be the most chaotic the town had ever witnessed.

Xander was still standing at the register, holding his bag with his new costume inside. He had been barely paying attention to whatever Ethan had been saying. He was too schocked the by the one aspect of the kickass costume he had not seen until too late…

_Nail polish…dammit I'm going to look like such a girl!_

* * *

On Halloween, Xander spent an hour getting ready. He put on the strange long sleeved mesh shirt and short sleeved black shirt over it. Then came the pants with more pockets than he knew what to do with. He strapped the packs Ethan had given him on a belt and pulled the clock over his body. The shoes were surprisingly comfortable, and he wiggled his toes as he slipped the ring onto his right index finger. Next he carefully put on the wig on his head and the strange metal thingamabob on his face. Then he put on the pretty awesome hat. And finally it was time for the part he had been dreading…the damn dark purple nail polish. Buffy had seen the nail polish in his hands and demanded he put it on and there was really no way to say no to her when she was that determined. Luckily she had not seen the rest of his costume, so it would be a surprise. Reluctantly he put the nail polish on his his fingernails and toenails. And he finally was prepared to go out for the night.

_Goodbye, my masculinity. I hardly knew thee._

He walked to Buffy's house so they could go to the school together. He knocked on the door and Buffy answered, looking beautiful as always.

"Buffy! Lady of Buffdom, Duchess of Buffonia, I am in awe! I completely renounce spandex!"

"Thank you, kind sir. But wait till you see…" Buffy looked up to the stairs and a disappointed expression appeared on her face. "Casper."

Willow was wearing her traditional ghost costume. She gave him a wave. Xander was not surprised. No matter how hard anyone tried, Willow would never be comfortable in a revealing costume and he was fine with that. Willow was Willow.

"Hey, Will. That's a fine boo you got there." Xander gave her a kind smile and knew Willow gave him one as well.

"So, Xander, what are you supposed to be?" Buffy asked with a confused look on her face. It changed to a sly smile. "And thanks for putting on the nail polish."

Xander's smile barely faltered and he answered Buffy, "Well, I don't really know what I'm supposed to be, but I'm going with... badass."

"Badass? That's it?"

"Yep!"

"How does wearing nail polish make one a badass?" Willow asked.

"…Would you look at that? We're almost late, let's get going to school. Hurry, hurry!" And with those last words Xander pulled Buffy and Willow out the door and they made their way to school.

The trio reached the school and after a few threats from Snider and insulting remarks about his nails and hair from Larry, they led the kids around the neighborhood for candy. Little did they know across town, someone was about to change the town and, unknown even to him, the world.

* * *

Xander spoke to the kids about the fine art of trick or treating. "Okay, on sleazing extra candy: tears are key. Tears will normally get you the double-bagger. You can also try the old 'you missed me' routine, but it's risky. Only go there for chocolate. Understood?" The kids nodded and smiled, ready to get even more candy. "Then let's move!"

The kids went up to the door and rang the doorbell, eagerly waiting for it to open and candy to spill into their bags. Xander smiled. The night had actually been pretty fun. But suddenly pain ran through his body. It was brief and then over.

_Maybe I ate some bad candy…_

But then the pain returned, tenfold. It was the worst in his hands. It felt as if they were being split down the palm. He screamed and fell to the ground. His hat drifted down and landed beside him. Little demons were running down the streets attacking people, left and right.

_What the hell is going on?_

That was the last thought that ran through his head. The pain consumed him and his vision went black. Willow in a very different outfit than earlier ran to him and attempted to help, but her hands just went through him. She cried for her friend and begged him to open his eyes. His body twitched and her eyes lit up with hope. He sat up, and she was surprised to see his one visible eye was now blue. Not only had his eye changed, his wig appeared as if it had changed to actual hair and was attached to his head. And then he smiled. The smile in no way resembled the friendly smiles that Xander often wore. It seemed to almost radiate a sense of madness and a promise of pain.

"Well, isn't this interesting, yeah?"

* * *

haha Deidara kicks ass! Sorry to all those who wanted Tobi, but I'll try to put out a one-shot about Xander dressing up as him at some point that will show scenes from later seasons as well. Anyway I was wondering: should Xander say yeah or un? Please leave an answer in a review and if un is the most favored I'll use it in upcoming chapters and change it in this one.


	2. Chapter 2

Another chapter! Last one for a couple weeks though. Enjoy and please review! Thanks to my one reviewer: RLDX. I'm going to change the yeah in the previous chapter to un at some point.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Naruto

* * *

"Well, isn't this interesting, un?

Deidara quickly took a look at his surroundings, absorbing it as quickly as only a shinobi could. He did not need his scope to see that he was in a drastically different place. He grabbed his hat and put it on his head, still subtly observing where ever the hell he was. The last thing he remembered was fighting that Uchiha brat and then nothing. Now little monster things were running around, and people were screaming. There was even a fire down the street.

_The only thing this place needs to make it truly exciting is some art, un._

As he observed the area, Deidara could hear the girl that looked a bit like a hooker speaking to him. "OhmygoshXander! Are you ok? What the heck is going on? And why does your girly wig look like it's real? We have to find Buffy, she'll-" Deidara could not help but get annoyed with her freakishly fast speaking; It reminded him of the annoyance from Hell, Tobi. And when she mentioned his "girly" hair, his eye began to twitch. She did not seem to be shutting up soon, so gave her a glare and moved his face close to her own.

"Shut it, woman. I have no idea who the hell 'Xander' is, but I'm not him, un. And if you ever even mention about my hair again, I promise that you will live long enough to regret it, un."

Now Willow was a little freaked out. No, not a little, she was completely scared for herself and her dearest friend. Not only did he not seem to remember his name, but also he was threatening her with torture. However, there was nothing he could say that could stop her from trying to get through to him.

"But you are Xander! You were wearing this costume and-" Deidara had had enough with her constant talking. So he reached over and put his hand over her mouth. Well, he tried to do so, but his hand went right through the girl.

"What the hell, un?" Deidara exclaimed. He noticed the girl looked as surprised as he was. Willow had forgotten what had happened when she attempted to help Xander, but now she realized what was going on.

"I dressed up as a ghost so-"

"A ghost of what, un? A hooker?"

"Shut it, you!" Deidara's felt his eye begin to twitch again, but there was nothing to do to her to shut her up. "I dressed up as a ghost and became one. Xander dressed in your outfit and became you. These kids dressed up as devils and demons and they became them. Do you believe me now?"

"…Fine, un. So what do we do now?" Deidara was reluctant to believe her, but he was obviously in a different world. The people he had seen were too out of shape to be shinobi and the technology differed as well.

"We gotta find Buffy. She'll help us…oh no! She dressed up as a noblewoman! We're in so much trouble now! Oh crap, Xander, I really don't know what to do."

"Stop calling me Xander. The name is Deidara, un."

"Deidara? A girly name to go with the girly hair I guess," Willow mumbled. And once again Deidara's eye started to wildly twitch.

_It's going to be a long night

* * *

_

The two walked around the neighborhood, searching for Buffy. They found her after a few minutes crouching behind a car screaming about demons. Deidara quickly knocked her out and picked her up.

"What was that for Xa…Deidara? She's the slayer; we need her!" Deidara noticed that she was getting pretty freaked out, so he gave her a fake look of apology.

"She would have slowed us down. We need to get to a place of safety, un." Deidara lied expertly through his teeth. Shinobi were masters of deception after all.

"I guess you're right, but now we're defenseless…"

"No, I have my art, un." Deidara said with a slightly insane smile.

Willow was extremely confused. "How exactly is art going to help us?"

Deidara's smile widened and he lifted his hands – Xander's hands – to show her the mouths on his palms. "Art is a bang, un. And I have everything I need to create some." He slung Buffy over his shoulder and slipped his now-free hand into the pouch on his belt and pulled out some clay. Willow's face paled as he slipped the clay into the mouths on his hands.

Willow's eyes filled with tears. This was not supposed to be happening. The three of them were supposed to go trick or treating and then spend the rest of the night just having fun. She might have actually shown Xander what was underneath her sheet and he may have finally seen her in a romantic way. But now Xander was gone and in his place was an insane bastard with creepy mouths on his hands. What the hell was going to happen to Xander when everything went back to normal?

They made the trek back to Buffy's house and to Willow's surprise, Deidara was able to fight off the two or three monsters that approached them. Sure, they were pretty slow and stupid, but it was more than Xander could have done. And he looked bored as he took care of them in just a few moves. Willow was becoming more and more sure that Deidara was dangerous, perhaps just as dangerous or even more so than the many vampires and demons that roamed Sunnydale.

They reached the house and just as they entered Buffy woke up. "Where am I? I should be at a ball right now. I warn you that if you do not let me free, my father will rescue me. And you, blond man, how dare you attack me!" Deidara was about to knock her out once more, but a scream from outside distracted him for a moment. Willow ran through the window after she saw Deidara was not planning on helping, and Deidara got his fist ready to knock the annoyance out. The door opened, but he paid it no mind

"Whoa, Harris, is that you? Nice hair, I'm actually jealous," a snide voice remarked. Deidara had had enough.

He quickly ran to the new woman and to his happiness she was corporeal. He picked her up by the throat and removed a kunai from his pouch. He placed it against her throat and spoke to her a menacing voice, "Listen up, bitch. I am sick of people insulting me, un. I am an S-rank missing nin of Akatsuki, un. Don't fuck with me or I will kill you, un. Do you understand me?"

Cordelia could only nod her head in response. Willow had run up to her and told her to hide in Buffy's house while she got Giles. She told her that Buffy and Xander had turned into their costumes, but she had not mentioned that Xander had gone completely crazy. He had moved so quickly, more quickly than she had seen Buffy run. And he seemed as if he had no qualms with killing her. Cordelia may have been a bitch, but she was smart and knew that whoever Xander was now was someone she did not want to piss off.

"Great, un. Now unless you want me to knock you out too, shut up and sit down, un." Cordelia quickly did so, but not without her patented bitch glare. Just because she was afraid of him, didn't mean she was going to completely submit to him. Deidara ignored her and turned his attention back to the irritating girl in the red dress.

"Now where were we, un?" He walked up to her, once again preparing to knock her out, but once again he was interrupted.

"Oh, good! You guys are all right. It's total chaos out there." A man had walked into the living room and was looking at them as if he knew them. Deidara could not help but let out a snicker at his large forehead.

"Oh thank God! Angel, they've gone crazy. Buffy's been muttering about some ball and Xander's been acting like a psychopath. But enough about us, how have you been?" During her little speech to Angel, Cordelia had left the couch she was on and moved to stand next to Angel. She remembered that Buffy and Willow had said he was a vampire, but not only did she not believe them, but also a vampire might distract weird-Xander while she ran for the hills.

"Xander, Buffy, it's me, Angel," he said when he realized the two showed no signs of recognizing him. He reached toward Buffy in an attempt to comfort her, but she backed away.

Deidara sighed. He was getting really sick of people calling him Xander. "For the last time, not Xander, un. I'm Deidara." He noticed the guy giving him a weird look, so he glared right back at him. He averted his eyes and turned his attention to Buffy. But noticed that she was gone. The next thing the three heard was a scream. Deidara smiled.

_Perhaps a chance for me to finally use my art, un!_

He dashed over and was disappointed to see it was just a man attacking the girl. But then his face changed; it looked more like the face of a monster than a human. He began to mold some clay into the shape of a bird, but Angel pushed him out of the way and jumped for the monster. Deidara gave him an angry stare, but it faded when he saw that Angel's face had changed too. Angel pulled a wooden stick out of his pocket and thrust it into the other's heart. It burst into dust that landed on Buffy's red dress.

_What the hell are these things, un? Although I have no doubt that my art would take care of them just as well as any ugly stick, un!_

Buffy and Cordelia screamed when they saw Angel's face, and Buffy fled out of the house and into the dark night. Angel cried out to her and chased after her. Cordelia seemed conflicted, but she too followed Angel. Deidara simply laughed at the chaos and looked down at the completed bird that he had been molding. He had created the very same bird he had used to fly over the hidden villages and lands surrounding him. Now it was time to get a bird's eye view of this place.

* * *

Deidara flew over the many houses and offices of the town. He looked over the edge of the bird to see the monsters still spreading destruction. Well, it was not fair for them to have all the fun. He laughed and threw a small clay bird towards a random house. "Katsu!" He shouted. The house was engulfed in flame and he could hear the faint screams from inside. "Hahaha! Art is a bang, un!"

As he laughed, he directed the bird closer to the ground and actually glimpsed a hint of red like the dress that Buffy girl was wearing. He looked closer with his scope and saw that some pirate freak was attacking her. The sight of the guy filled him with an inexplicable rage and before he knew it he had thrown a kunai into his back. The girl screamed and continued her run away from all that scared her. He glanced back to see the other two just a little ways behind her. He figured it might be fun to watch what would happen to them.

After a few minutes, things had really livened up. The girl had been captured by some peroxide demon thing and Angel, Cordelia, and Willow, who had found them just before the blond had, could not do anything. The guy was leaning over her and was about to bite her neck. But something happened. Deidara felt a great pain in his head and knew something was wrong. Whatever had brought him here was taking him back. He had no desire to leave though. His life was over, and Deidara was selfish. He refused to go. But the spell was broken, and he was fighting a battle impossible to win. His body collapsed, and both his mind and Xander's fell into darkness

However, in another dimension reserved for deities, Janus was watching the events of Halloween in Sunnydale. That shinobi had caused quite a lot of chaos and it would be so boring if there was nothing of him left behind. So Janus did something that was technically against the rules of the gods. He intervened.

Deidara's kekkei genkai and some of his physical traits remained with the boy along with some vestiges of his personality. Perhaps the most influential remnants that remained were the missing nin's idea of art and his memories.

Janus smiled. The Powers' plans would really suffer due to his interference and he could not be happier.

Xander, on the other hand, was going to be in for quite a surprise when he woke up.


	3. Chapter 3

Howdy everyone! I know it's been awhile, but I was working on my other story (which is number one on my list) and coming back to school. Anyway thanks to all those who have taken the time to review my story. I hope everyone enjoys the story! Please review!!

* * *

"Why did he collapse?"

"Should we just pick him up and take him home?"

"Come on, Xander, wake up…please."

Xander could hear the voices around him, but it took a second to place them. They were the voices of Willow and Buffy. He was about to rise when the surge of memories hit him. He could remember what he had done tonight. He could see Larry's blood staining the pirate shirt he wore and hear the screams of those he had blown to pieces. No, not him. It was Deidara, not him. But the memories continued. Memories of Deidara's life hit him. He could remember the first kill he ever made. The taunts about his hands from the other children in the village. Killing the many hunter nins that chased after him as his rank as a missing nin rose all the way to S. The humiliation when Itachi defeated him so easily and the anger he felt when he was forced to join the Akatsuki. Annoying Sasori-danna with his _correct_ concept of art. Fighting the jinchūriki for the one tailed beast. Dealing with Tobi. And his death at the hands of that damn Sasuke. But it wasn't his death. The things that he remembered had not really happened to him. He knew this, but he could still feel the mouths on his hands.

_Wait a second. That's not a memory! Those mouths are still there! Shitshitshit_

As he tried to concentrate on his real identity and the permanence of his costume, he heard Buffy and Willows conversation continue.

"Angel, would you please help us get him home?" Buffy asked her vampire boyfriend.

"Sure, Buffy. It's no problem," Angel replied.

_No no no! They'll see the hands and think I'm a freak. Just like when I was little…no, that wasn't me dammit!_

He pushed away all of his confusion and worries, and he sat up to give a smile to his friends. "Hey, guys. How the hell did I get here?" He saw the relief on Willow's face. Deidara definitely had not made the best impression on her and she was no doubt happy that he could not remember a thing. She gave him a smile and answered his question.

"Everyone who bought costumes at Ethan's turned into their costumes. It was chaos. Buffy thought that cars were demons." Willow was trying to make light of the situation and he and Buffy let out small chuckles.

"I can't remember much except for a whole lotta French. Thinking about it kinda gives me the wiggins."

"So, Wills, was I a badass like I said earlier?" Willow's happy expression quickly dropped and she nervously looked around in an attempt to figure out what to say.

"More like meanie, actually," she finally said. "So after all this chaos, I'm pretty tired. How about we all head home." Buffy agreed with her and Xander nodded along. However, a pang of guilt struck him.

_I terrified her…How will she react when she finds out I'm not the same?_

The group made their way to Willow's house, and then Xander's. Angel and Buffy continued on to their house, leaving Xander standing outside his house. He gave a big sigh, and he slowly walked through the door. As he entered his house, a bottle came flying at him. With reflexes that he had never had before, he caught the bottle and threw it back without a thought. A thunk and pain-filled groan followed.

"What the hell was that, boy? Where have you been? I've been waiting for you to come back so you could get me some more goddamn beer. And now you've given me a fucking concussion. You're gonna pay for that…" Tony Harris' words were drifted away when he saw the look on his son's face. It was a look he had never seen before on his dufus of a son's face.

"Well, Dad, that's why you don't throw things. Now I'm really not in the mood for dealing with you right now or at any time really, un. So if you don't shut up, I will make you. Permanently. Understood?" Now Tony Harris was not the sharpest tool in the shed, but his survival instinct was strong. He gave a meek nod and quickly made his way back to his chair in front of the tv. He'd just have to watch baseball without the help of alcohol. God help him.

Xander gave a snort at his father's cowardice, not truly realizing how different he had just acted. He slipped into his room, dropped his hat on his bed, and made his way to the bathroom; He wanted a good look of himself in order to see if anything else about him had changed. He entered the bathroom and stared into the mirror. Luckily, he didn't look too different. His face looked a bit more angled and delicate. Now matter how hard Deidara protested, he did look pretty girly, and now Xander's face seemed just a tiny bit more feminine. He removed the scope from his eye and gave a sigh of relief that both of his eyes had turned back to their regular brown. With a nervous glance to his hair in the mirror and a prayer to any and all deities out there, he hesitantly reached a hand to his hair to pat it…

_Yes!! It's a wig. No blond ponytail for me!_

With a smile, he pulled off the wig, only to drop it when he saw his hair underneath. He was now a blond with hair a tad longer than earlier that night.

_I should have known. My eyebrows are lighter as well, I just didn't really notice._

Xander's legs weakened, and he slowly slid down the wall and onto the ground. The entirety of the night's events was finally hitting him. Xander dropped his head into his hands. He instantly jumped in shock when he felt a tongue lick his cheek. "Damn. I forgot about those. What the hell am I gonna do? There's no way I can go to school looking like this, much less see Willow and Buffy."

With one last look at his reflection, Xander left the bathroom and returned to his room. He walked to his bed, letting the Akatsuki cloak drop to the floor as he went. He fell into his bed and fell asleep wishing that he had just dressed up as some generic soldier. Maybe then things would not be so different.

* * *

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Xander was jerked awake by the harsh noise of his alarm clock. He glanced at it to see that it was 7:30. He had thirty minutes to figure out what to do about his new appearance. Suddenly the solution hit him. He was actually surprised he had not thought of it sooner, but it had been an eventful night to say the least. He pictured himself as he had looked before, and then he quickly moved his hands in a set of seals. As he moved his hands, he noticed that he was nowhere near as fast as Deidara, let alone a chunnin. Also, the purple nail polish had not chipped or faded, and the ring remained on his finger.

"Henge no jutsu!" Smoke surrounded him, and when it cleared, Xander was there looking as he had just a day before. The blond hair was brown once more, his face was no longer even slightly girly, his fingernails were free of paint, and his fingers wore no jewelry. However, he knew this was not real; He had changed, and it was likely that nothing could fix it. He once more looked into the mirror to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary and then rushed out of his house and off to school.

Sunnydale High was quieter than usual when he arrived. Although the students seemed to ignore much of what had happened the previous night, the one thing that no one could deny was that Larry was murdered in the chaos. Even though death was disturbingly not out of the ordinary at Sunndydale High, it never got any easier on the students. Xander could not help but flinch as he walked by Larry's locker. He hoped if anyone noticed they would simply think he was mourning, but in reality, he was reliving the moment when Deidara put a kunai in Larry's back without a care. He shook his head to rid himself of the memory and the slight feeling of glee that accompanied it and made his way to history. Perhaps he could catch up on his sleep as the teacher gave a painfully boring lecture about the Civil War or the Great Depression or whatever they were talking about.

"Xander, how could you sleep through the class? You're grades could go down, and then you might fail, and then we might not be able to graduate together! We can't let that happen!! I'm going to have to be your study buddy!" Xander smiled at Willow's babbling, one of his favorite things about her. No matter what was going on, he could always depend on Willow to be unable to control what came out of her mouth. Buffy playfully rolled her eyes at Willow's concerns and pushed the library doors open.

The trio saw Giles pacing the library floor, but he stopped when he heard their entrance. "Hello, children. I was wondering if any of you were experiencing any leftover effects from your… transformations last night. In fact, I don't have the slightest clue as to what you and Xander dressed up as, Buffy."

Willow gave a quick shake of her head. "Well, I haven't slipped through any walls or anything, so I think I'm completely alive again."

Buffy looked up thoughtfully to the ceiling. "I dressed as a noblewoman, and other than a fluency in French that is already going away, nothing's changed."

Xander gave a nearly imperceptible flinch at the question and looked off to the books as the others gave their answers. As Willow and Buffy answered Giles' question, he wondered if he should tell them the truth. He was almost ready to do so, but the paranoia that all shinobi, including Deidara, possessed in that other world held him back. He did not want to have Buffy chasing after him with an ax in the belief that Deidara was possessing him or something like that, nor did he desire to see Willow's disgusted and fearful face when he revealed the mouths on his hands. So when Giles turned his head toward him looking for an answer, Xander gave him a goofy smile and lied. "I'm not even sure what I was, Giles. But I don't remember much, and no freaky side effects. So I'm good." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the relieved looks on the faces of his friends. Those faces only strengthened his resolve to not tell them the truth about his costume.

Giles had a smile on his face, happy to not have to deal with any more otherworldly trouble in Sunnydale than usual. The group moved on to Spike's ass-kicking at the hands of Buffy and then plans for the Bronze that night. For a little while, it seemed as if everything had returned to normal.

* * *

Later that night, Xander stood in the cemetery in front of a fresh grave with his new appearance. He knew that Buffy would not be patrolling the area tonight, but just in case, it was better if she didn't see him here. He knew she would not recognize him with his new look if he quickly got away if she came across him. He intended to train with the undead that night, and if it went well, he would continue to do so. He may have the memories, bloodline, and instincts of a very powerful shinobi, but he lacked the strength, speed, and actual experience of Deidara. He would be able to handle some demons and vampires, but without training he would have to continue to rely on Buffy when the more powerful beasties came to Sunnydale. Luckily, he had Deidara's memories, so he knew how to make progress.

He glanced at the grave he was standing in front of, but there was still no movement. How did Buffy not die of boredom when she was doing this? He returned to his thoughts of hand seals and weapons for a few more minutes when he suddenly felt the ground slightly shift beneath his feet. A smile appeared on his face that resembled Deidara's more than any smile of his. A hand popped up out of the grave and was soon followed by another. A head slowly rose up as well, it's features contorted with the bumps and ridges of a vampire's "game-face". The vampire looked up to Xander, and the newborn ignored his instincts screaming to run away and gave a chuckle.

"How nice. I won't have to search for my dinner." Xander raised an eyebrow at the vampire's failed attempt at sounding frightening. He simply looked at his watch, wondering if all vampires took this long to get out of the grave. "Hey! Didn't you hear me? You're gonna be my dinner as soon as I get out of this dirt. Why don't you run off? It'll be more fun that way for me, and you might even escape!"

Xander continued to stand there until the vampire was finally out of his grave. The nameless vampire reached out to grab Xander, but he was surprised when his prey avoided his clumsy grasp and gave him a punch to the stomach. The vamp bent over to catch his nonexistent breath; Old habits die hard. Unfortunately for the vampire, a knee soon connected with his face, causing his nose to break. He stumbled away and began to flee the teenager. However, he fell to the ground when a kunai was thrown into the back of his knee. He screamed in pain and attempted to crawl away. He was stopped by a foot on his back. He turned his head to meet the cold brown eyes of his soon to be killer. The last thing the vampire saw before he crumbled into dust was the slightly insane smile on the teen's face.

Xander's smile fell as he evaluated his one-sided fight against the fledgling. His taijutsu was not very good but Deidara's was not stellar either as he was a long-range fighter. That was one thing Xander definitely needed to improve upon; Fights were usually up close and personal in Sunnydale. His accuracy was not too good considering he had wanted to hit the vamp's Achilles' tendon. And accuracy was necessary for his "art".

However, his need for improvement did not lessen his determination; If anything it made him even more resolved. He would grow stronger, stronger than Deidara even. He knew it would take years, but he nothing would stop him from fighting the evils of the world. And if he got to spread his art around the world while doing so, that wouldn't hurt either. With a slight skip to his step, Xander made his way to the next grave he suspected held a newborn vampire. He had lots more training to do.


End file.
